Chapter 3: Day Three

Daniel stood with General Hammond, outside of the interrogation room.

"Both Teal'c and the suspected Trust agent vanished without a trace, sir," Daniel reported, "but I'm confident that Doctor Bricksdale, here," he said, gesturing towards the closed door, "will be able to illuminate just how that was done, and where we might find them."

"If you're right, that makes him our only link to stopping the Trust from striking against the Jaffa and Goa'uld," said Hammond.

"Not to mention getting the 'gate back and having any chance of finding Sam and Jack," added Daniel.

"Precisely," said Hammond. "Good luck, Doctor."

"Thank you, sir," said Daniel, turning to enter the room.

Sam woke to sunlight streaming into their chamber through a low window. She was curled up in Jack's arms, and he was still sleeping soundly. She lay there, quite contentedly watching him for several minutes, before he finally stirred.

"Morning, Jack," she said quietly.

"Mmmnnn," he moaned.

"Good morning, Jack," she said again, a bit louder.

He rolled suddenly, pinning her beneath him, and pretended to be still asleep.

"Jack!" she giggled.

He kissed her, then finally opened his eyes. "Good morning," he said at last. "How're ya doin'?"

"Wonderfully, thanks," she said, rolling him back onto his side. "But I'm hungry."

"Okay," Jack said, suddenly sitting up and swinging his legs over his side of the bed. "Shall I order in, or would you like to brave the crowds?"

Sam sat up. "I don't mind the crowds so much after all," she said, smiling.

After getting ready for the day, Sam and Jack set out once more, this time hand-in-hand, strolling at an easy pace through the streets. When they came to Harry's courtyard, the king already had a small gathering of subjects around him. Seeing the couple, they began to chant their "hurrahs!" and Sam and Jack gave them quite the kiss in response. Harry's jaw dropped, but he regained his composure as the two finally approached. "Enjoying your stay, after all," he observed, gesturing for Sam and Jack to join him at his table for breakfast.

"The place kinda grows on you, I guess," said Jack smiling, and holding Sam's hand on top of the table as they sat.

"Right," said Harry, grinning at the now happily married couple. "So, what are your plans today?" he asked as they ate. "They're planning a hunt later this afternoon, if you'd be interested."

"Hunting what?" asked Jack. "Boar-cows, or turkey-pigeons?"

"Funny," said Harry. "But actually, it's sort of a cross between a deer and a zebra that I call -"

"I was planning on heading back down to the 'gate, at least for the morning," said Sam. "I just want to give it another try, maybe see whether anything's changed."

"Maybe later, then, Harry," said Jack.

As they finished breakfast, a serving woman brought satchels with Sam and Jack's lunches for them. "Well, Harry," said Jack, getting to his feet, "here's hoping we don't see you again."

"Yes, but just in case, I'll save a couple of seats at dinner," said Harry.

General Hammond descended the stairs into the control room, and approached Daniel, Siler, and Davis.

"Prometheus is in orbit," Davis said, "but hasn't detected any ship yet, sir."

"Well, we figured they'd be cloaked," Daniel supplied.

"Doctor Jackson," said Hammond, "remind me why I should let you do this?"

"Because, sir, it's the only way we have to get on the ship, and if they've changed the command codes, I'm the one who has the best chance to decipher the Ancient symbols," Daniel answered concisely.

"I still don't like it," replied Hammond. "It seems like you're just walking into the same trap that's gotten Teal'c."

"Well, I'm open to suggestions," said Daniel.

"It's all we've got, sir," said Davis to Hammond.

"Look," Daniel said, "once I do shut down the cloak, Prometheus will be able to pinpoint the ship's location. Then all I have to do is disable the hyperdrive, and... wait for the cavalry. They'll never see it coming. Okay?"

Siler handed Daniel the wrist device, then backed away to a safe distance behind the general.

"Godspeed, Doctor," said Hammond.

"See you soon," said Daniel, and vanished in a flash of light.

Jack and Sam made their way out through the city, making an effort to actually get noticed by small gatherings of people whom they hoped would cheer them. "Ya know, Sam," said Jack, after another, thoroughly enjoyable kiss, "we should get this custom going on earth."

"I sure wouldn't mind," said Sam, turning back to their path.

Eventually, they reached the stargate. Jack set their lunches in the ship, and Sam began to pace around the 'gate. Jack took a seat on the steps, as Sam walked back over to the DHD. "Oh, my gosh," she said suddenly, looking into the damaged control face.

"What?" asked Jack, coming forward to have a look.

"I think I've got it!" she said, striding forward to stand in front of the 'gate. After a few moments, nodding to herself, she turned to Jack and explained. "The 'gate itself was overloaded. That's why it hummed, and that's why it destroyed the DHDs and the ship's power core when we tried to use them."

"Then why didn't it work when we dialed out manually?" asked Jack, surprised to find that - so far - she was completely intelligible.

"I'm guessing," replied Sam, "that as long as the 'gate was in that overpowered state, it was still sort of 'locked' on earth. We only tried to reach the Alpha Site manually, before we hooked up the 'gate to the ship."

"So how does that change anything now?" asked Jack, failing to see how that helped, since they'd lost their last power source.

"The energy's dissipated. That's why the ring won't move. I think we can attempt another dial."

"But we still need a power source," observed Jack.

"Exactly," said Sam, walking back over to the DHD. "I disconnected the DHD after the 'gate first malfunctioned. The control interface is completely destroyed, but looking at it more closely just now, I think it may still be able to provide the power we need."

"So do we dial earth or the Alpha Site?" asked Jack, completely confident that she could make it work.

"It's a gamble either way, since we might only get the one shot, and we still don't know what happened to the earth 'gate in the first place. But I think the safest bet is to dial earth, just in case the 'gate is still locked on," she said.

"Alright," said Jack, climbing the stairs and preparing for the manual dial. "You are, after all the brains in this relationship. Let's do it."

Prometheus approached the uncloaked Trust Al'kesh. "We're in weapons range, sir," reported the navigator.

"Have they noticed us yet?" asked Colonel Pendergast.

"I don't think so," she replied. "They seem to be operating at minimal power. No evasive maneuvers."

"What about the hyperdrive?"

"Still no signal from Doctor Jackson."

Pendergast activated his radio. "General Hammond, we have a problem. The ship's cloak is down, sir, but Doctor Jackson has yet to confirm whether he has disabled the hyperdrive or not."

"Give him a little more time, Colonel," came Hammond's voice in response.

"Right now, sir," argued Pendergast, "they are sitting ducks. If they spot us, they can run and we won't be able to catch them. We can't afford to let them get away, General. I recommend we open fire immediately."

"We can't afford to lose the stargate just yet, either, Colonel," came Hammond's definitive reply.

"Where did he come from!" asked Jennings of his fellow Trust operative, walking around the stargate and seeing Daniel now seated in the Al'kesh cargo hold next to a bound Teal'c.

"He had the wrist device," answered Hoskins, holding the two at zat-point.

"Any chance there's more of them?" asked Jennings.

"It only lets one person up at a time," replied Hoskins.

His radio crackled, "Hoskins, this is Brooks."

"Go ahead."

"The cloak's been disabled," Brooks informed him. "I don't know if I can get it back on line."

"This position is compromised," replied Hoskins. "We need to get out of here now."

"Yes, sir." answered Brooks.

"What about them?" Jennings asked, indicating the captives.

"We can't take them with us," said Hoskins.

"I don't mind going for a little ride," said Daniel.

"Nor do I," added Teal'c.

"Sorry about this, Doctor Jackson," said Hoskins, raising his zat and preparing to fire.

Suddenly, the 'gate lit up in the cargo hold. "Incoming!" yelled Jennings. He and Hoskins fell to the ground as the vortex erupted from the stargate.

Daniel's radio came to life, "this is General O'Neill, does anyone read?"

Teal'c and Daniel took advantage of their captors' ducking out of the way. Daniel dove for his radio, while Teal'c head-butted Jennings. "Does anyone copy?" came Jack's voice again.

"Jack! This is Daniel, we need your help, come on through!" Daniel shouted, as Hoskins regained his feet and prepared to shoot him.

Almost immediately, Jack and Sam emerged from the event horizon, weapons raised. Hoskins turned to the 'gate, only to be taken down immediately by Jack.

"You have excellent timing, O'Neill," observed Teal'c.

Brooks' voice came over Hoskins' radio, "Cargo hold, what's happening down there? Cargo hold, respond. Jennngs, Hoskins, where are you?"

The sound of the ship's engines changed. "What's happening?" asked Daniel, as Teal'c looked at the computer monitor.

"She is engaging the hyperdrive," Teal'c informed him.

"Get to the gate!" yelled Daniel.

"What's goin' on?" asked Jack.

"In a minute, Jack," said Daniel, as Teal'c stooped to search Jennings' pockets.

"They're trying to run, sir," reported the Prometheus' navigator.

"General Hammond," radioed Pendergast, "they are powering up their hyperdrive, we are out of options."

"Can you disable the ship without destroying it?" asked Hammond from the SGC.

"I cannot give you any guarantees," answered Pendergast.

"Sir, we're picking up a signal coming from inside the ship," interjected the navigator.

"What is it?"

"Locator beacon, sir. Same frequency."

"Lock on the signal," ordered Pendergast. "Activate transport beam."

"Beam activated... the ship's gone, sir," she observed.

Pendergast turned to his intercom, "Cargo bay, report."

"This is cargo bay," came the reply. "We have the 'gate, sir, as well as Teal'c, Colonel Carter, Doctor Jackson, and General O'Neill."

"Carter and General O'Neill?" repeated Pendergast in shock. "Acknowledged. General Hammond," he said, activating his radio once more, "it looks like you were right. We have the 'gate and all of SG-1 aboard, as well as General O'Neill."

"That's good to hear, Colonel. Well done," said Hammond. "Now bring 'em home."

"Yes, sir."

Epilogue: Day Four

Sam walked down the ramp from the stargate, where Siler and the other technicians were finishing their inspection. "The good news is the 'gate is fully operational again," she reported to the generals. Hammond had stayed to debrief Jack (and vice versa) before once again relinquishing command of the SGC. "We can resume off-world missions immediately."

"And the bad news," supplied Daniel, "is the Trust now has a fully functional Goa'uld Al'kesh."

"We've installed jamming devices around the 'gate to prevent any locator beacons from operating in the future," said Sam.

"What of the Tok'ra poison?" asked Teal'c.

"Well," said Daniel, "They left most of it behind, but they still have enough to wipe out at least a handful of Goa'uld worlds. In retrospect, General, maybe you should've destroyed the ship when you had the chance."

"That's why it's my job to make the tough calls, Doctor Jackson," said Hammond, apparently free of regrets. "Now, Jack, what was this you wanted to talk to me about before I leave?" he said, turning to depart the 'gate room with Jack at his side.

"Ah, yes," said Jack, with a smile towards Sam. "Just looking for some expert advice."

"Sam?" asked Daniel, as the generals exited.

"Daniel?" replied Sam, grinning.

"Why are you blushing?" he asked, but he was at last beginning to piece together something of what must have happened on Maybourne's planet.

"Am I?" said Sam, and she turned to walk back up to the 'gate.

"But... but... you two..." stammered Daniel. "You were only gone two days!"

The end.